Washington Wizards @ Los Angeles Lakers

Tonight’s showdown matchup looks to be without two of its biggest stars. Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal might both miss this game tonight, but there is an outside possibility Beal is activated. I would keep my eye on Kristaps Porzingis who will be a candidate to sit on the second night of a back-to-back. If any of those players sit, it will be easy to find a couple of value options where we can spend down. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Injuries

Washington

Bradley Beal – QUESTIONABLE

Rui Hachimura – OUT

Delon Wright - OUT

Los Angeles

Anthony Davis – OUT

Wenyan Gabriel – OUT

Juan Toscano-Anderson - OUT

MVP/CAPTAIN

LeBron James (SF/PF)

With no Anthony Davis tonight (foot injury) we should be set up for a LeBron James explosion game that will make it very hard to keep him out of the MVP spot in this Showdown matchup. When Davis does not play, James has an insane 35% usage rate and 1.52 fantasy points per minute. In their last seven games, the Wizards have allowed power forwards to score 27 actual points per game, third-most in the NBA. When Davis does not play, James’ per-minute numbers in rebounds, threes, and blocks also jump up significantly. 

Kyle Kuzma (PF)

When Bradley Beal does not play, Kuzma has an elite 30% usage rate and 1.10 fantasy points per minute while also leading the team in minutes played. There is also a real chance Kristaps Porzingis does not play tonight (more on that below), and if that’s the case I might lock in Kuzma in 50% of my MVP and LeBron in 50% of my MVP. In his last game against the Lakers (#revengegame), Kuzma dropped 44 fantasy points in just 32 minutes. His $14,400 salary on DraftKings is the lowest of the big three options tonight and should allow plenty of room for the roster you want considering the value we have popping up. 

Kristaps Porzingis (C)

The Unicorn is definitely in play for the MVP slot tonight, but I would pay close attention to the afternoon injury reports to see if he pops up with a sudden “injury” or as a rest candidate. This is the second night of a back-to-back and Porzingis poured in 35 minutes in a losing effort last night, marking the eighth time in nine games he has put up at least 38 fantasy points. He did play both sides of a back-to-back on December 9th and 10th, so there is some real hope he suits up for this one. 

Bradley Beal (SG)

(ASSUMING HE IS ACTIVATED) Just before his latest injury Beal had really started to turn it on, giving us three out of five games with more than 45 fantasy points. The last time these two teams played is when Beal was hurt (after just three minutes) so we don’t have a sample for Beal this year against the Lakers. But after a slow start to the season, Beal had put up seven out of eight games with at least 38 fantasy points. The Lakers (second) are a huge pace bump for the Wizards (19th) tonight, so if we hear that Beal will get anywhere close to 30 minutes, we can fire him up as the fifth-highest salary on the slate tonight. 

UTILITY 

Russell Westbrook (PG)

Westbrook may not be starting these days, but he has taken that demotion in stride and is excelling right now in a sixth-man role. He has over 50 fantasy points in three of his last four games, crossing the 30-minute mark in each of those. But even when he does not reach 30 minutes, he is still productive. Westbrook hasn’t scored less than 26 fantasy points in almost a month yet his UTIL salary is $2,000 less than the top players on this slate. The Wizards are 22nd in defensive rating this season, so this should be one of those fast-paced, loose defense games where Westbrook excels. 

Deni Avdija (SF/PF)

Deni Avdija has permanently supplanted Will Barton in the starting lineup and he has excelled in the role. As a starter, he averages 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and shoots 42% from the floor. As a reserve, those numbers are just 3.0/3.7/1.3/33%. The Lakers are a bottom-five team against small forwards this season, especially in the rebound and assist department. If either Beal or Porzingis (or both) are out tonight, Avdija’s usage will go way up.

Jordan Goodwin (PG/SG)

Goodwin becomes less of a priority if Beal plays tonight, but he has been torching people with his additional opportunity lately. Since he first played 26 minutes against these same Lakers on December 4th, Goodwin has been on a roll, averaging 28.8 fantasy points per night and only playing below 20 minutes once when he had a terrible shooting night. At $6,000 on DK, the salary is at a point where Beal needs to be out in order for us to justify playing Goodwin, but he is a great play if it looks like he will reach 25 minutes again. 

DART THROWS

Thomas Bryant (C)

Playing Thomas Bryant tonight will be equal parts obvious and popular. With Anthony Davis out, Bryant is in line to draw the start and he should get plenty of minutes in this fill-in role. When Bryant plays without Davis, he gets a huge boost in rebounds, usage, and fantasy points per minute. His 1.18 fantasy points per minute in these situations is third on the team behind only James and Westbrook. In their last seven games, the Wizards have been the worst team against centers, allowing 62.8 fantasy points per game. Bryant should be a lock tonight and is also a consideration in the MVP spot. 

Dennis Schroder (PG)

The Lakers appear to be rolling with Schroder as their starting point guard right now, which is a very good thing for his minutes, assists, and steals. Schroder might be called upon to score more tonight with Davis out, and he has hit at least 28 minutes in three of his last five games. In the constant guard shuffle-up, it has been Patrick Beverley seeing his minutes cut to make room for the Westbrook-Schroder combo, so the playing time should be safe in this matchup that is likely to remain close. 

 

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